Carson begins with a fable about a rural town ravished by irresponsible pesticide use.
What does Carson hope to accomplish in this opening chapter?
How effective is it?
Is her story believable?
CHAPTER 2
According to Carson, how are humans unique?
How has their ability to alter the environment transformed since World War II?
Why is she so concerned about the accelerated pace of this change, and what examples does she provide?
What are the results of these changes?
What term does she propose to describe the effects of the new generation of pesticides?
What does she see as the "central problem[s] of our age?"
What is the fundamental irony of the introduction of new pesticides designed to increase agricultural production?
Does she completely reject the idea of controlling insects?
What is the first specific pollutant Carson mentions by name in Silent Spring (hint: see page 6)?
According to Carson, why has the need for insect control increased?
Who has most vigorously promoted the vision of a "chemically sterile, insect-free world"?
Does Carson reject the idea of using chemical insecticides?
What do you think about Carson's idea that Americans should have a fundamental right not to be exposed to poisons distributed either by private individuals or by public officials?
CHAPTER 3
What is unique about the modern age?
How pervasive are the new synthetic pesticides?
What event is linked with the sudden growth of the synthetic pesticide industry?
What is different about synthetic (as compared to previous) pesticides?
How has the rate of pesticide production changed since the end of World War II?
What was the most common pesticide prior to 1945? What are its effects?
According to Carson, modern pesticides are much more deadly than their predecessors. What are the two major kinds of synthetic pesticides?
What is common to both?
The pesticide that Carson spends the most time discussing is DDT.
Where did it come from?
Why was it considered safe?
What happens to DDT when it enters the body?
Carson claims that DDT, like other persistent pesticides, concentrates up the food chain (i.e., "bioconcentrates"). What does this mean?
What are some of the other synthetic pesticides that Carson singles out for discussion?
How toxic are they?
Which is the most toxic of the chlorinated hydrocarbons?
For what purpose were organic phosphates originally developed in the late 1930s?
What effects do these substances have on living organisms?
What are some examples of commonly used organic phosphates?
What happens when one or more of these pesticides are used (or ingested) together?
What are systemics?
According to Carson, do herbicides also present a threat?
Chaper 4: Surface Waters and Underground Seas
"It is not possible to add pesticides to water anywhere without threatening the purity of water everywhere."
What are some of the ways in which pollution enters waterways and what are some of the major risks?
What is the "gunk" that is referred to on page 40 and why is it a problem?
Explain the significance of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service report released in 1960.
Silent Spring
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
Chaper 4: Surface Waters and Underground Seas
"It is not possible to add pesticides to water anywhere without threatening the purity of water everywhere."